pasta
Americannoun
-
pastas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pasta
1870–75; < Italian < Late Latin. See paste
Explanation
Pasta is any Italian style of noodle, including spaghetti, ziti, and macaroni. Your favorite type of pasta might be fettuccine, especially when it's served in a creamy Alfredo sauce. Pasta refers to the noodle, or to the dish that contains it, like vegetable lasagna or spaghetti carbonara. Most pasta is made from semolina flour and water, and often eggs. The stiff dough is rolled very thin and then cut into shapes or long ribbons. It can be cooked from this soft, fresh state, or (more commonly) dried, packaged, and sold. Pasta is an Italian word (surprise, surprise), from Late Latin, which means "dough or paste."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Adds Miyashita: "These puzzles beckon our curiosity. After all, spiral forms in nature have inspired human creations ranging from rotini pasta, to a barber's pole or even portrayals of the biblical 'Tower of Babel'."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
And its culinary heritage, led by pasta al pesto alla Genovese and focaccia, may have gone viral in Italy and beyond, but taste far better here at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Instead of cooking the pasta separately, Meghan puts it directly on top of tomatoes with some lemon zest and greens, then pours boiling water over the whole mixture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Last week, I wrote about the pasta that finally taught me how to shop at the farmers market.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
After eating nothing but sandwiches and granola bars for two days, Ivy’s mouth watered just thinking about Mr. Bishop’s spinach-and-cheese omelets and homemade chicken carbonara pasta.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
She’s tried to replicate the experience in Sarasota, by importing Italian pastas and flours and procuring French butter from specialty stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
What you’re left with are little shards of savory excess, perfect for scattering over grain bowls, steaming congee, salads, pastas, anything that could use a jolt of salt, fat, and crunch.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
Its sprawling, old factory and corporate office in Gardena is now churning out protein-fortified pastas for Angelenos who want more bang for their bowls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
Visitors to Puglia, a major producer of durum wheat, can try handmade pastas in a variety of shapes, paired with broccoli rabe, sea urchin and even a horse ragù.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
“The pastas are usually pretty good here,” he says as the waiter hands them menus.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
